Girl in Red: If I Could Make It Go Quiet – Deftly repackaged indie pop

Norwegian bright spark Marie Ulvin is going to make an impact on fresh young ears

If I Could Make It Go Quiet
    
Artist: girl in red
Genre: Pop
Label: AWAL

Marie Ulvin, aka Girl in Red, is the bright spark from Norway whose heartbreaking bedroom pop will give one generation an outlet for their feelings of frustration and another the chance to relive past traumas. Goodie! The 22-year-old, who specialises in queer romance (or lack thereof), mental health struggles and general malaise, already has a strong following thanks to her self-produced EPs Chapter 1 and Chapter 2, but her debut album will undoubtedly steer her onto the fast track to success.

Lead single Serotonin (co-produced with Finneas Eilish, Billie’s brother and songwriting partner) spitfires frightening thoughts from a manic episode while juggling clever wordplay and brilliant vocal delivery over crashing guitars and trap beats. Did You Come, which navigates the lies and paranoia of complicated sexual relationships, borrows the spite of Avril Lavigne and the coolness of The Cardigans.

Rue, named after Zendaya’s character in HBO’s Euphoria, might be for a Gen Z audience, but its timeless angst will speak to us all on some level. Ulvin’s music sounds like it could have featured on the soundtrack to the 1999 movie 10 Things I Hate About You or the latest A24 feature film about TikTok teens.

Familiar but different, this indie-pop doesn’t enter new territory, but for fresh ears, it’s going to make an impact.